Cash-and-carry wholesaler Assaí has become the largest sales channel of Brazilian retailer Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) in the food-retail segment.
Accounting for 34% of revenue, it exceeded the performance of supermarkets, hypermarkets and other channels.
With 99 stores open and nine others under construction, Assaí is now seen as the main route for GPA’s expansion.
Acquired by the group in 2007, with just 14 stores, Assaí has seen significant sales growth in recent years. The chain closed 2015 with revenues of BRL 11.3 billion (€3.17 billion), an increase of 25% over the previous year. In the first half of this year, sales grew by 36.6% year on year, to BRL 7 billion (€2 billion).
Speaking to O Estado de Sao Paulo, the president of Assaí, Belmiro Gomes, said that families account for 80% of transactions, while, in revenue, they represent 40%-45% of total sales. The main buyers are small-business owners, such as restaurants, coffee shops and street vendors.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
